My name is Ezekiel Foster and this is my story:

"Growing up, I had a decent childhood with good parents. Sure, there were struggles, but all-in-all, I thought I had a pretty decent life. During my 7th grade year, my life took a bad turn of direction as I picked the wrong friends and got involved with drugs and alcohol. My family relationships began to suffer because of the rebellious state in my life. At the time, I thought the world revolved around me. I was self-centered and self-focused, caring so much about what people thought of me. Things ended up getting so bad that my dad and I parted ways during my freshman year. I moved in with my mom and enrolled in McCloud high school. Once again, I got involved with the wrong crowd, which led to more alcohol and drugs, as well as constant fighting at school and with my mom and step-father at home.

Around that time, my mother told me that I needed a heart change and needed help. I told her that I would work on it, but I just blew it off just because of my arrogance, which led to more fighting. I continued down a path of bitterness and wrong choices. I did my best to hide my struggles and put on a fake picture of myself, but deep down, I was miserable and couldn’t escape.

This past April, I ended up moving to Boys Ranch Town. It seemed like my whole world was coming down. I just needed something to help me understand my life and give me meaning. Although I had grown up in a Christian home and had heard about Jesus, it never made sense to me. People at Boys Ranch Town really invested in me and cared for me well. Mr. Michael often talked to me about my faith, and although I believed in God, I did not want to be like so many other people that I knew who claimed to be Christians but lived as though they weren’t. The staff at Boys Ranch Town continued to talk to me about the gospel, and I had daily conversations with them about God, scripture, and the gospel. My cottage attends Henderson Hills, so I began getting plugged in here. I met Hayden, and he began being intentional about getting to know me.

One day this past summer, my house parents told us we were going to church camp. It frustrated me because I did not want to go. But while there, I started to feel a tugging on my heart. Hayden’s sermons made sense to me and grabbed my attention. That Wednesday, I talked with Hayden about being saved. He explained God’s love and mercy for me. He explained how my sins could be forgiven and how I could be restored to God through faith in Jesus. That night as I went to bed, I was so overwhelmed by conviction. I couldn’t stop thinking about if I could really be saved.

The next morning, we went to the worship center and when we started to sing, I felt the weight of my sin and knew that I was guilty before God. The band began to play “Jesus You Alone,” and I felt Jesus inviting me to Himself. I had felt Jesus calling me to Himself last year, but I ran away in fear. Not this time! I confessed my sins to Jesus and through faith, surrendered my life to Him as my Lord and Savior. A rush of peace and joy flooded over me, and I knew that I was secure in Christ.

I have been a believer now for four months and it’s been amazing, but it’s also had ups and downs. I know that there will be tough times, but I can remain faithful and joyful through thick and thin because it’s worth it. Habakkuk 3:17-18 is such an encouragement to me as I go through this life.